Over 20 people were injured Monday night after an SUV slammed into a New York City sports bar.
The incident occurred around 9:00 p.m. when a silver Audi exited a gas station near the bar and allegedly rear-ended a Toyota RAV 4 SUV, CBS New York reported. The impact from the Audi caused the driver of the Toyota to lose control of the vehicle, sending it onto the sidewalk and into the Inwood Bar and Grill, according to ABC News.
NYC sports bar SUV crash leaves nearly 20 injured https://t.co/UDR7zYNGdk pic.twitter.com/8yRZNNv8KQ
— New York Post (@nypost) January 3, 2023
Sory Toure, the driver of the Toyota SUV, told CBS that when he saw the silver Audi pull out of the gas station, he feared for his life. “He was speeding very, very fast. Because that’s why he hit me. If he wasn’t coming like fast, he wouldn’t have hit me,” Toure said. “When it hit me, I think, my life is gone. That’s what I think … I don’t drive, like, drunk drive. I don’t do that. This is my job.”
Toure is an Uber driver and had a passenger in his vehicle at the time of the collision. Both suffered minor injuries, according to CBS News.
Twenty-two unsuspecting bar patrons were also injured in the collision as they were showered with shards of glass when Toure’s vehicle plowed into the front window of the restaurant, Fox News 5 stated. One of the injured was a 10-year old girl who suffered a broken leg, CBS reported. Only 19 sought medical treatment and none of the injuries were life-threatening, officials said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Pedestrian Struck By Three Cars In Lethal Hit-And-Run)
The Audi driver involved in the collision drove off and is being sought by police as they continue to investigate the incident, ABC News reported.